Fundraising Project Ideas

In the developing world, a child dies every 15 seconds due to easily preventable water-related diseases. Yet, it costs Water 1st just $25 to provide one person in Honduras, India, Bangladesh, or Ethiopia with a lasting supply of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene education.

Here are some ways that you can raise money to save a child’s life. By using some or all of the ideas below, you can raise money to make a difference in the life of a child in the developing world:

• Car Wash – Wash your parents’, teachers’, or neighbors’ cars in return for a $5 donation to Water 1st.
• Greeting Cards – Make your own greeting cards and sell them to friends, family, neighbors with proceeds going to Water 1st.
• Water Assembly – Hold a water assembly, followed by a donation collection. Stand up and tell your school all about Water 1st’s work and the need for safe water. Show the Water 1st film/DVD. Ask students and teachers to donate.
• Water Challenge – Set up a stand and ask classmates to put on a blindfold and taste two types of water. Ask them to guess which one is tap water and which is bottled. Ask for a donation from each participant.
• Lunch-time Collection – Put a couple of collection boxes in your school cafeteria so that students can donate their spare change from lunch.
• Bucket Walk – In many countries, children as young as eight have the responsibility for collecting water for their families–they sometimes have to walk as far as six miles each day, carrying jugs of water as heavy as 40 pounds. Carry a bucket to school and ask friends and neighbors to throw in donations along the way.
• Bake Sale – Have a bake sale at your school with sales going to Water 1st.
• Popsicle or Candy Bar Sale – Sell popsicles or candy bars at your school with sales going to Water 1st.
• Walk/Jog-a-thon for Water – Organize a walk or jog-a-thon for water at your school. Ask friends, family members, neighbors to sponsor you a certain dollar amount for each lap you complete around the field or track.
• Running Water – Charge your classmates to participate in a race that makes a difference. Each participant will carry a bucket of water and carefully make their way to the finish line with as much water left in the bucket as possible. (This should be done outdoors to avoid slipping and causing injury.)
• Drink Water Day – Give up all drinks apart from water for the day and donate $1 that you would have spent on tea, coffee, or carbonated drinks to Water 1st.
• Yard Sale – Encourage your friends and family to have a major clear out of old toys and clothes for a garage/yard sale.
• Water Bike – Save your bus fare or parents’ gas costs by riding your bike to school and donate $1 to Water 1st.
• Soak the Teacher – Persuade your teacher, principal, or a parent to take part and ask students (and teachers!) to pay to throw a wet sponge at them.
• Flushed Away – Put a collection box in each bathroom at your school and home. Donate 10 or 25 cents to Water 1st every time you flush the toilet.
• River of Coins – Ask people to place coins in a snaking line around a playground, parking lot, or hallway–give a prize to the person who guesses right and donate the coins to Water 1st International.